Congelation apparatus



Dw 1941- R. s. REYNOLDSON CONGELATION APPARATUS Original Filed July 18,1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENT OR.

J20Za720Z G]? oZaZsora 3 ATTORNEYS 1941- I R. G. REYNOLDSON 2,265,8 8

. CONGELATION APPARATUS I Original Filed July 18, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. R0 Zand Q.fiy720Zd 507Z ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 9, 1941.

2,265,858 CONGELATION APPARATUS Roland G. Reynoldson, Madison, Wis.Original application July 18, 1938, Serial No. 219,756. Divided and thisapplication May 1, 1939,. Serial No. 271,235

9 Claims.

My invention relates .to an improved means for freezing or chillingarticles including, but not necessarily limited to, articles of foodsuch as bacon.

Another purpose is the provision of improve means for directing air orany other suitable gaseous chilling medium through a stack of are ticlesto be chilled, and between adiacent articles.

Other purposes will appear from timeto time in the course of thespecification and claims.

The present application is a division of my copending applicationSerial. No..219,'7-56 which was filed in the United StatesPate'nt Ofliceon July 18, 1938, and since matured into Pat. No. 2,196,080, dated April2, 1940.

I illustrate my invention more or less diagrammatically in theaccompanying drawings where- Fig.6 is a sectionon the line 6-6 of Fig.1.

Like parts are indicated by like symbols throughout the specificationand drawings.

I illustrate and describemy invention as applied for example to thechilling of pieces of bacon or other substances, stacked in containers,and preferably during the maintenance of stack compression. The stacksmay be passed through or held in. a freezing orchilling zone and are sostacked or spaced as to permit. a'ready circulation of the chillingmediumbetween adjacent articles or forms in the stack. For purpose ofillustration I will describe a typical cycle ofloading, stacking,Chilling and unloading of bacon, it being understood that the apparatusfor and method o f chilling bacon is illustrative rather than aslimiting me specifically to such application of my invention.

Referring for example to Fig. 1, A indicates any suitable loadingplatform or table- Illustrate'd as positioned on the table are the partsshown on a largerscale in Fig. 3. I indicates a an open top and sidewalls 3. 4 indicates a hole in the bottom of the container. '5 indicatesa top member having circumferential downwardly extending walls 6 andbeing provided with spacing cleats I. The operator places the piece ofbacon l in the lower container or the bottom '2 and positions the top 5thereupon, as shown in Fig. 4. A stack of such containers is illustratedin Fig. 5 as positioned on a bottom clamp member 8.

This container, as shown in Fig. 3 and as will later app ar, is adaptedfor the pneumatic or pressure removal of articles within the containerafter treatment, the hole 4 being .adapted to permit the entry of airunder pressure within the container and beneath the article containedtherein, whereby the top of the container and the article may bepneumatically expelled from or loosened from the'bottom. The cleats Iare important as spacing the containers apart whereby cold air may becirculated between adjacent containers, when they are stacked, forchilling or freezing or for other purposes.

Aft-er any suitable number of containers have been positioned upon thebottom clamp member 8, as shown in Fig. 5, top clamp members 9 may beapplied and the members 8 and 9 can be drawn together by any suitablemeans, for example the compression rods III with the nuts llscrew-threaded to the upper .ends of the rods. It will be understoodthat the particular details of the pressure maintaining means are amatter of choice but the one shown serves as an illustrative example.

The stack thus produced, indicated as a whole at B in Fig. 5, may bemoved on any suitable conveyor table l2, which provided with a pluralityof supporting rollers l3. .These permit the easy manual movement oi theunit B upon. the adjacent similar conveyor table indicated.

as M, with its rollers l5. l6 diagrammatically illustrates any suitablepress, member having a plunger l1 and a plunger head l8 adapted toengage the top tray of 'the stack. Any suitable means maybe employed tothrust the members I! and I8 downwardly against the top tray to compressthe individual members. 2 and 5 together against the bacon. When thestack is compressed, the nuts ll may be rotated into bottom position inorder substantially to main- .tain the pressure on the individual slabsof bacon during the freezing period.

It will be clear from Fig. 4 that the thickness of the bacon slab I issomewhat greater than piece of bacon. 21s a container shownas having theheight of the flanges 3 or 6. whereby in response to the thrust of thepress each indiand take a completely or substantially completelyrectangular form. The result is that the finished bacon piece can beevenly sliced with a minimum of wastage, and the bacon can be changed inall three dimensions. Since the containers are uniform in size, or of apredetermined size,..the bacon will be formed to that size. If thecontainers are uniform, all of the bacon pieces will.

also be uniform in size.

The unit B, after it has been subjected to pressure and while thepressure is still maintained by the members In and II, may be movedalong the conveyor l4 into alinement with the freezing unit'generallyindicated as C and shown in vertical section in Fig. 6. As thereinshown, it includes a freezing chamber-defined by insulated walls. Iillustrate a bottom wall 20,- a top wall 2|, a side wall 22, and anopposite side wall 23. The end walls, not herein shown in detail, areprovided with gates 24 which can be raised to permit the insertion andremoval of the units B and which can be lowered to maintain therefrigeration chamber closed, there being such gates at each end of theunit C.

Located within the chamber is any suitable supporting platform generallyindicated as 25, which is shown as having roller tracks 26, 21 alinedwith the gates 24. It will-be understood that whereas I have illustratedtwo such tracks,

. a single track might be employed, or a larger number of tracks. But Ifind two tracks to be a convenient solution of my problem. In thetwo-track form herein shown, cold air is admitted along a passage 28which communicates as at 29 with the interior of the refrigerationchamber along a line in the top wall 2| about midway between the tracks26, 21. Thus a current of cold air is delivered downwardly into thechamber in a generally vertical downward direction along a center linebetween the two tracks.

The means for supplying the air may be widely varied. I illustrate,however, fans or blowers 30 direct a circulation of cold air laterallyoutwardsage of therapidly moving blast of cold air. The

bames 36 are preferably so shaped and spaced as to deliver jets orcurrents of cold air at extremely high velocity through these spaces. Aswill be clear from Fig. 6, I may find it desirable to arranged thebaflles in two inwardly convergmounted in any suitable fan housing 3:within an outer chamber 32. Any suitable means may be employed fordriving these fans. Preferably such fans and blowers are highly speededup in relation to conventional practice in circulating cold air inrefrigeration. In practice I have speeded up the fans about twohundred'per cent over conventional practice in order to obtain a violentand rapid air circulation in the freezing chamber, in order to obtainquick freezing.

33 indicates any suitable cooling coils, the details of which do not ofthemselves form part of the present invention. The used air is drawnoutwardly from the refrigeration chamber along the passage 34 and isdrawn upwardly through the refrigeration coils 33 past the brinedelivery spray pipes 35 and thence upwardly through the fan and backdown the passage 29. The

ing rows. baflles, however, may be widely varied.

The operator, in practice, simply fills the refrigeration chamber withas many of the units B as it will take, or a smaller number if desired,closes the gates 24, and causes the cold air to circulate downwardlythrough the passage 28 and through the baiiie system and thus about eachof the units B. After the units have been subjected to the influence ofthe cold air for a suitable period, depending upon the degree offreezing or chilling desired, the gates 24 may be opened and the unitsmay be moved out upon the roller conveyor 40. They may be moved alongsuch conveyor to the position shown at 4] in Figs.-1and 2. There thenuts ll may be unscrewed andthe t'op clamp member removed,

and the operator can then take the individual containers off one by one.I

It will be recalled that each container has an aperture 4 in the'bottom. Such container may be positioned upon the handling or unloadingplatform 42 with the hole 4 alined with a cup 43. This cup may be ofrubber or any other suitable substance to maintain a tight connectionwith the bottom of the container 2. 44 indicates an air pressure line incommunication with the cup 43 and extending to anysuitable source of airpressure. 45 indicates a valve controlling such line 44 and 46 is a lineto the pressure source. 41 is an operating rod for the valve 45 whichmay be controlled manually or by a foot lever or pedal 48 as shown inFig. .2 whereby the operator can control the delivery of air pressure byhis oot. Any suitable means may be employed for biasing th valve 45 tothe closed position whereby it is operated only when the operatorpresses down on the pedal 48.

50, 5| are suction cups mounted on the support 42 which is apertured topermit their passage therethrough. 52, 53 are suction connections to asuction line 54 which is controlled by a valve 55. The valves 45 and 55together form a multiple valve structure which may be unitarilycontrolled by the rod 41 and the pedal 48. Thus when the operatorpresses down on the pedal 48, the initial effect is to open the valve 55and to subject the interior of the cups 50, 5! to suction. The twovalves are preferably so proportioned that the pressure valve 45 is notopened until after the suction valve so that the effect of the initialdownward movement of the pedal 48 is to apply suction without applyingpressure. The effect of the suction is to draw the container 2downwardly firmly against the surface of the support 42. Thereafter,when the pressure valve 45 is opened and pressure is applied to the cup43, this pressure passes through the aperture 4 and around the bacon Iand serves to blow the The size, shape and location of the top upwardlyfrom'the container 2 suiiicientlyv to free it.

After thecover has been removed, the operator tosses it, aside or putsit on any suitable conv'eyor or support, shown for'example as the rollerconveyor 60 of Fig. 1. pressure serves to blow the bacon piece I loosefrom the bottom container 2 and the operator can toss it upon anysuitable conveyor or place it on any suitable support, the details ofwhich do not form part of the present invention.

Continuatlon of the to be chilled, each such stack including a pluralityof containers having therein articles to be chilled, each said containerhaving upper and lower walls and spacing means therebetween whereby theadjacent pairs of articles are separated by horizontal air spaces, andmeans for securing together in unitarily movable relationship thecontainers of each stack, means for delivering a refrigerated fluid tothe space between said conveyors; and means for directing therefrigeratedfluid outwardly in opposite directions from a the spacebetween .said conveyors through the Thereafter, the operator similarly.

ried on relatively continuously or intermittently.

It will be realized that I have illustrated and described my inventionrelatively diagrammatically and that many changes maybemadeinsize,shape,

number and disposition of parts withoutv departing-from the spirit ofmy. invention I therefore wish my description and drawings to be takenas in a broad sense illustrative and diagrammatic, rather than aslimiting me to my precise showing.

It will be'understood, ofcourse, that whereas I have described my methodand apparatus as used primarily withbacon, this is but one advantage ofits use as it may be employed for other food stufls or for otherarticles orsubstances which are not in the category of food stuffs.Broadly, I deform or mold substances or articles under pressure,thereafter chill or freeze them, and thereby set them, and thereafterfree the formed, set articles from the forming molds.

Stated broadly, my procedure includes the following sequence of steps.The baconpiece I is dropped in the container 2 and the cover 5 is placedupon it. Where, the substance being treated is bacon, it is notrectangular when the method begins, but, when positioned in arectangular container will be converted to a reccooling circulation ofaircan pass at high velocity between each adjacent pair of containers,causing rapid chilling or freezing. The pressure is eifective'to moldthe bacon to conformto the rectangular inner surface of the container 2and its flanges 3 andthe opposed upper face of the member 5. The baconthus formed is subsequently chilled and set by the cold air.

Thereafter, the operator has only to unpack the individual units asabove described and the bacon may be taken to any suitable handling orpacking zone for packing or other treatment, or for slicing.

I claim: 1. In a chilling device, a chamber, a pair of parallelconveyors in said chamber, stacks mov-- able on said conveyors forreceiving the articles frigerated fluid outwardly in opposite directionsspaces between the articles in the stacks located on said conveyors. g

2. In" a chilling device, achamber, a pair of parallel conveyors in saidchamber, stacks movable bn said conveyors for receiving the articles tobe chilled, each such stack including a plurality of containers havingtherein articles tov be chilled, each said container having upper andlower walls and spacing means therebetween whereby the adjacent pairs ofarticles are separated by horizontal air spaces, and means for securingtogether in unitarily movable relationship the containers of each stack,means for delivering a refrigerated fluid to the space between saidconveyors, and means for directing the refrom the space ,between saidconveyors through the spaces between the articles in the stacks locatedon said conveyors, including directing elements, in the lineof deliveryof said refrigerated fluid, adapted to subdivide the flow ofrefrigerated fluid into a plurality of paths aligned with the spacesbetween the articles in the stacks.

3. In a chilling device, a chamber, a pair of parallel conveyors in saidchamber, stacks movable on said'conveyors for receiving the articles tobe chilled, each such stack including a plurality of containers havingtherein articles to be chilled, each said container having upper andlower walls [and spacing means therebetween whereby the adjacent pairsof articles are separated by horizontal air spaces, and means for se- Icuring together in unitarily movable relationship the containers of eachstack, means for delivering a refrigerated fluid to the space betweensaid conveyors, and means for directing the refrigerated fluid outwardlyin opposite directions from the space between said conveyors through thespaces between the articles in the stacks located on said conveyors,including a plurality of deflectors in the path of delivery of therefrigerated fluid and aligned individually with the spaces between thearticles in the stacks 10- cated on said conveyors.

4. In a chilling device, a chamber, a pair of 7 parallel conveyors in'said'chamber, stacks movable on said conveyors for receiving articlesto be 1 chilled, each such stack including a plurality of containershaving-therein articles to be chilled, each said container having upperand lower walls and spacing means therebetween whereby the adjacentpairs of articles are separated by horizontal air spaces, and means ofsecuring together in unitarily movable relationship the containers ofeach stack, means for delivering a refrigerated fluid directlydownwardly into a space between said conveyors and the stacks thereon,and for directing said fluid laterally into and through 5. In a chillingdevice, a chamber, a pair of parallel rows of stacks located in saidchamber, each such stack including a plurality ofgcontainers havingtherein articles to be chilled, each said container having upperandlower walls and spacing means therebetween whereby the adjacent pairs ofarticles are separated by horizontal air spaces, and means for securingtogether in unitarily movable relationship the containers of each stack,means for delivering a refrigerated fluid directly into the spacebetween said rows of stacks, and means for delivering said fluidlaterally in opposite directions from the space between said rows ofstacks and through said stacks, and through the air spaces betweenadjacent pairs of articles to be chilled in said stacks.

6. In a chilling device, a closed chamber, a generally horizontalpartition spaced above the bottom thereof, means for circulating a gasin a closed circuit through said chamber, including inlet means at thetop of the chamber, means for supporting articles to be chilled instacked piles upon said horizontal partition, while maintaining agenerally horizontal air space between adjacent articles in the stack,including a plurality of containers having therein articles to bechilled, said containers having upper and lower walls and spacing meanstherebetween, and

means for removably securing together the containing a generallyhorizontal air space between adjacent articles in the stack, including aplurality of containers having therein articles to be chilled, saidcontainers having upper and lower walls and spacing means therebetween,and means for removably securing together the containers of each stack,means for directing said chilled gas horizontally through said stack andthrough the spaces between adjacent pairs of articles in said stack,means for refrigerating the gas, located at one side of said chamber,and

8. In a chilling device, a closed chamber, a

generally horizontal partition spacedabove the bottom thereof, means forcirculating a gas in a. closed circuit through said chamber, includinginlet means at the top of the chamber, means for supporting articles tobe chilled in stacked piles upon said horizontal partition, in aplurality of parallel rows located at each side of the said inlet means,while maintaining a generally horizontal air space between adjacentarticles in the stacks, including a plurality of containers havingtherein articles to be chilled, said containers having upper and lowerWalls and spacing means therebetween, and means for removably securingtogether the containers of each stack, and means for directing saidchilled gas horizontally through said stacks, in opposite directionsoutwardly from the space between said rows of stacks, and through thespaces between adjacent pairs of articles in said stacks.

9. In a chilling device, a chamber member having a pair of oppositewalls, each said wall having a plurality of openings, the individualopenings of each wall being aligned with a corresponding opening in theopposite wall, remov able closures for said openings, anti-frictionalsupporting means in said chamber for movably supporting therein thearticles to be chilled, and extending between the corresponding openingsof each wall, stacks of articles located on said supporting means andadapted for movement therealong, said supporting means and the stacks ofarticles thereon being laterally separated by an open space, means formaintaining the articles in said stacks under pressure, with air spacesbetween adjacent pairs of articles in said stacks, and means fordelivering cold air into said intermediate space and laterally outwardlytherefrom in opposite directions through said stacks and along thespaces between said articles, including baflles located in saidintermediate space and aligned with the path of delivery of cold airinto said intermediate space and with the air spaces between adjacentpairs of, articles in said stacks.

ROLAND G. REYNOLDSON.

